I'm not much different from you. Information plays a huge role in my life.

When paper began to stack up, I switched to digital. Guess what? If you're not careful, digital information stacks up just as quickly!

So between the iPad, smartphone, multiple computers and any number of Internet ready devices, how do I keep track of my digital files in a way that I can easily find what I need when I need it?

Easy, I use Internet aka cloud based storage options like Dropbox, Sugarsync and Box.net to safely store my information and give me access from whatever device I'm using.

So how can they help you keep YOUR digital life straight? Check out this quick video for more details.

Most of us start the year off with optimism, resolutions and motivation to make this year different.

Resolve to Decide

Many of us have set resolutions to get organized, lose weight or save money. The trouble is that most people give up on their resolutions before we even get half way through the month of January. In fact researchers dubbed Monday January 16, 2012 as "blue Monday" because so many of us are bummed out from already abandoning our resolutions.

Here's a little secret...resolutions often fail because while we state our intentions, we rarely take the time to devise a plan for getting there. We have a Vision with no action plan.

Abandon Your Resolutions and Make SMART Goals Instead

This year I want to encourage you to abandon your resolutions without guilt and instead make decisions about the goals that really matter to you..

When we make resolutions it's like making a wish list of things you want. When we make SMART goals, we make plans on how we are going to accomplish the things that are important. SMART goals are

Read more on SMART Goals in my post Someday is Code for Never Reach Your Goals

Partner Up for Productivity Results

Besides making them SMART the other key to making your goals stick is to declare them to others. I'm a huge believer in having a partner that you work with to reach your goals. Accountability or Success partners can make a difference when you are feeling discouraged or have become distracted. They make it easy to chunk or break down your end goal I to manageable activities that bring you closer to results. Learn more about the benefits of working with an Accountability Partner.

OK yes, when some people hear the word "accountability" it may bring up negative feelings. When they think of someone being held accountable, it's usually in a negative sense with guilt and blame.

For me when I hear of holding someone accountable, I simply think of responsibility, ownership--remembering the things that you need to take care of.

A big challenge for most entrepreneurs is being able to prioritize their work and bring all their great ideas to life. They start and stop; get distracted; get bogged down in clerical stuff. They have tthe responsibility for the success of their business and the work they do for clients to continue to growing.

Sometimes it's hard to remember why we do what we do.

When we work in a company we have a team and colleagues to collaborate with. When we are the business alone---there's usually no one else around to help develop our ideas.

Enter the Accountability Partnership.

As a solo practitioner, I depend on my strategic relationships with others to add depth and strength to my business. I have my own accountability partners that are my irreplaceable sounding boards. They know me, understand my business and keep me focused on my core values both on a personal and professional level. (Yes even the consultants need consultants!)

They help me take ownership of my responsibilities and not get sidetracked by unimportant things. Yes sometimes, it hurts, but in the end, being held accountable has helped me achieve my goals and boosted my own personal productivity.

My accountability partners are my cheerleaders and boosting squad.  Yes they hold me to my word, when I'm having a hard time, but they encourage, support and celebrate my triumphs as well.

See--- Accountability isn't a bad word. Being accountable has had a positive impact on my business and personal development.

So who holds you accountable for reaching your goals and realizing your dreams? Who do you count on to help keep you focused? Who gets your business and your ideas and helps you steer a straight path?

If you don't have an accountability partner, get one. It could be a colleague in the same industry but in non competing cities. It could be a networking partner in a related field.  It could be me. Find someone someone who gets you....and get to work.

One of the best tools that you can use when managing your team is effective delegation. Usually when I work with clients it's the one question that comes up the most. What do I delegate?

Our gut instinct when we delegate is usually to give the boring, stuff that we don't want to do so we can get to the exciting stuff. Now honestly, yes, there are times, that we have no choice and our support staff ends up holding the bag on administrative things. But where I've seen delegation work successfully is when you share the good stuff too.

I like to think about delegation as managing the iceberg.

Ideally, if you work on the stuff that happens above the water--you'll be more strategic. Focus on the big picture thinking, planning, decision making that will chart the course of the project. Then carefully delegate the rest of the work to your team--let them work on the stuff below the water.

As a contributing author to the book Insights on Productivity in my chapter on Delegation Mastery I described mastering the art of delegation this way:

True delegation is about maintaining the appropriate balance between letting go and staying involved. In an environment that promotes true delegation, everyone is constantly learning new things and experiencing personal professional growth. Workplace challenges, and the responsibility and authority that accompany these challenges, flows down the chain of command smoothly and effectively. Everyone delegates work and receives delegated work. Everyone learns. Everyone grows.

It's not about passing the buck or dumping the boring stuff.

Delegation is something you have to practice to get good at it. If you're new to it, it can be easy to fall into micromanaging. Here are a few quick tips from my chapter to help you become stronger in delegation:

Step One: Evaluate strengths and struggles to identify your strengths and areas of opportunity as a manager and evaluate your team members to develop an understanding of their individual strengths and weaknesses.

Step Two: Evaluate the tasks and responsibilities critical to your success leverage the strengths of your team by breaking down the jobs to be done in your department and matching them with the best person to do the job.

Step Three: Begin delegating with reasonable freedom and boundaries. Be up front and honest with your team members. Tell them you are going to start with small projects to give them the opportunity to earn more responsibility and authority.

Step Four: Prepare for your next job. Now that you are creating opportunities for your team members and lightening your workload at the same time, start getting ready to move up by asking your boss to delegate more responsibility to you.

If you’d like to read the full chapter, plus some other great ones on productivity issues, click here to get your own copy of Insights on Productivity.

In the mean time, I’d like to know how you handle delegation. Drop me a comment and let me know how you delegate work to your team.